Our first stop in September was right over the Columbia River in Portland, OR. While staying there we took a trip to Mt Saint Helens. Growing up, I can still remember when the mountain exploded and there was ash as far as you could see. It was such an awesome thing to be able to actually go up and see the mountain and learn more about the eruption and the aftermath. Just to see first hand the destruction that was caused was eerie. You can still see where nothing has grown back from the lava "rivers", trees are still down and the mountain is still smoking. I highly recommend stopping by if anyone is in the area. On our way back to Portland, we stopped by Ft. Vancouver in Vancouver, WA and looked around the old buildings.
Another trip we took was to "chase waterfalls" along the Columbia River Gorge. On this road there are alot of waterfalls. Some of them off the road where you have to hike to see them (didn't do those). We did, however, decide to venture out at one called Bridal Veil. The sign said it was 2/3 a mile round trip so we thought nothing of it....Going down was fine, but coming back up.... poor Buddy was trying to pull me back up those switchbacks. It was sooooo bad that they had a bench at the end of each of the switchbacks. Thought I was going to die before getting back to the top. Needless to say, we didn't venture out to any more that were not visible from the road. They are beautiful though. 
We also took the opportunity to go see the state capitol in Salem, OR. Those are probably the main highlights of what we saw. We did drive around town and look at the sights and stuff, but these are the main ones.
While in Portand, we got a call from Melissa that she will probably not make it to her due date so we changed around our plans and headed down to Klamath Falls. We stopped overnight in Eugene, OR - Home of the Oregon Ducks and wouldn't you know it, they were playing UNR (University of Nevada, Reno). They really take their football seriously. There was even a "truck and trailer" all decked out, staying at the campground. I am surprised that we escaped without having our tires slashed or windows broken with that big old Nevada license plate on the back. We were only there overnight, but we took advantage of being there to go see some of the Covered Bridges of Lane County.
We made it to Klamath Falls, OR and stayed at the KOA there for a month. We went to Crater Lake while we were there but the best thing that happened while we were there was the birth of our granddaughter, Ashlyn Ryann, September 14, 2012, 5 lbs 4 oz with the longest legs I have seen. We stayed in Klamath Falls for her first month of life and enjoyed every minute of holding her and loving on her and I cried for an hour as we were leaving her to continue heading South. She is such a good baby. Can't wait to see her again. I got to spend a lot of time with my sister, Rhonda and her family.... pretty much went over every day.
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